


The Devil's Order

by Azure_Galaxy



Category: Devil May Cry 4
Genre: Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-15 16:32:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18673381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azure_Galaxy/pseuds/Azure_Galaxy
Summary: While chasing a powerful demon, Nero ends up flung back in the past to when he was still in the Order. Having no idea how he arrived there, and more importantly no way of getting home, he quickly realizes that he can use opportunity as a second chance. But going up against old enemies while trying to save an old friend who was technically one of those enemies is no simple matter. Will he succeed in creating a better future for Fortuna? Or will he make things much worse than before?





	The Devil's Order

 When Nero wakes up several years in the past, he is admittedly a little off balance. Sure, he’d been tracking some crazy time manipulating demon, and sure maybe he had accidently stumbled right into the middle of some kind of fucked up ritual. And maybe, just maybe, all of the complex looking runes drawn everywhere had started glowing at that exact moment. But it wasn’t like he was expecting to be flung back into his--what sixteen, seventeen year old body? It was hard to tell. Nero’s right arm was human not demonic, but then again, it hadn’t been since he’d grown it back during that Qilopth fiasco. His body was a lot scrawnier than he was used to, and his hair was longer too. Anyway, even though waking up in the past was a hadn’t been something Nero had been expecting, he couldn’t really deny the fact that it happened. And he really wanted to, because if he had really traveled into the past he had no way of returning. Well, no way that was obvious to him. Nero was stuck here.

 Of course Nero didn’t automatically come to this conclusion. No, he wasted several hours trashing his room, yelling incoherently and just generally panicking. Once he’d gotten the denial out of his system and calmed down he tried to figure out when he was.  The mirror in his room provided several clues for his general age, but didn’t really provide an exact date. The room Nero was in was a small one, and if he was being honest he had to had to admit that he didn’t really remember it all that much. There was a desk in one corner with some papers laying on top of it. The pages looked like the reports that the Order required their “knights” to fill out once they had completed a mission. Nero was pretty sure he had never filled out any paperwork when he was in the order, which would explain why the stack was so high. He went through them and was happy to see they were all dated. He found the most recent and according to the small numbers he was at least thirteen years in the past. Having seen his younger face in the mirror, Nero wasn’t really that shocked by this revelation. Still, he had to sit down for a second after reading the information. 

 “Shit,” he muttered. “Shit, shit, shit.” Never let it be thought that Nero was ever at a loss for words. “Okay,” he said out loud. Talking to oneself is a bad habit to get into, for some reason it makes people think you’re crazy. “Okay, so in the past. Alright, that’s...that’s something. I’m obviously not dead though, so at least there’s that. Of course, that means everyone else is probably gone though.” Nero stopped talking to himself after a few minutes, because he had never really been all that reassuring. He sat on the end of the twin sized bed that was in the room and gazed blankly at the floor. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that, but he felt that it was a sufficiently melodramatic amount of time. Then something positive occurs to him, or at least not as negative as the rest of his thoughts. Technically, nobody Nero knew was actually dead, they were just all a bit younger. That didn’t help the fact that some of those people didn’t actually know him, or the even the fact that Kyrie wouldn’t have the same memories of the two of them that he had. Though that might not be a totally bad thing, since this Kyrie wouldn’t have to live with trauma that had been inflicted on her by Sanctus and his psychotic plans. Nor would she have endured the pain of losing her brother. That last thought made him freeze then jump to his feet in shock and excitement.

_  Credo. _

 If he really was twelve years in the past that meant that Kyrie’s brother was still alive. Nero’s childhood friend, who had been murdered by Sanctus because Nero had been too weak to protect him.  The two of us may have drifted apart as they grew older, but Credo and Kyrie had always been the two most important people in Nero’s life, and his death remained with him even to this day. That meant that Nero could use this whole time travel thing as a sort of second chance. As an opportunity to fix past mistakes, and protect Credo from dying and Kyrie from the pain of that loss. The memories and feelings would always exist for him, even if it hadn’t technically happened yet, it had still happened to Nero. But if he could stop it from happening, then maybe this whole fiasco could be a sort of blessing in disguise. 

 Of course, if Credo was alive then that meant people like Sanctus and Agnus were alive as well. Which meant that their whole “Savior” plan was still in works. Which Credo was also aware and supportive of. The dumbass. Still, if Nero was going to try and save Credo, why not try and help everyone that had been hurt by Sanctus? Or as many as he could anyway. Even years after Sanctus had been stopped, people had still been dealing with the aftermath. Destroyed homes, dead families and friends, and now Nero was in a position to do something about it all. Maybe even stop it all from happening. The fastest and easiest way to make sure that none of that ever happened was to kill all of the Order of the Swords leaders. A lot of the Order actually hadn’t been aware of what Sanctus had been plotting, and even after he had done it they hadn’t believed that the Order they served had been involved in such crimes. One of the biggest reasons the Order existed was to protect the world from demons after all. Why would their leader be consorting with them? All of people had accused Nero and Kyrie of lying to about the whole thing. Nero’s demonic right arm hadn’t really helped matters either.

 But mass assassination of religious leaders wasn’t really Nero’s thing, no matter how cult like the religion. Not to mention the fact that he’d probably have to go up against Credo if Nero went around killing his bosses and allies. Which would make saving his old friend’s life just a tad bit more difficult. He could perhaps just go to Credo and explain that Sanctus wasn’t really interested in peace or saving the world from itself or whatever he had told Credo his motivations were, but was actually just interested in being worshipped as a God no matter the cost. He could tell him that Sanctus would even see Kyrie as an acceptable sacrifice, but what proof could he give him? The whole “I'm from the future” thing probably wouldn't do anything but convince him that Nero was crazy. If he had proof that Kyrie was in danger, Nero knew he'd drop the whole Order thing instantly--he’d done it before, after all. Alas, there was no such proof. And no way of finding proof, either. Sanctus had only gone after Kyrie to get to Nero after all.

 So Nero would have to find a way to be subtle about this. Which, shockingly wasn't really his forte. He grimaced at the thought. He'd have to make some plans as well. Nero really, truly hated making plans. His plans always seemed to fall apart right at the most inconvenient moment. But this wasn’t a demon Nero could rush in blindly and kill. Credo’s, and numerous others, lives were on the line. The least he could do was think it through. Nero sat back down with a depressed sigh. He would have to call in sick or something for the next day and not report to headquarters like the paper in front of him told him he was supposed to do.  _ I guess I have some planning to do. Damnit. _

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

_ Six days later _

 Headquarters was located only a short distance from the barracks and Nero made his way across the Gran Album bridge to get there. Seeing everything in its original non-destroyed condition was a bit disorienting, as he was far too used to seeing everything in shambles. The “Savior” had inflicted so much damage on the area that most of the fortress had fallen into the ocean making the area far to dangerous for the citizens of Fortuna to salvage. But now it was all whole and pristine, and though he hated to admit it, the place was definitely a credit to artitecture. Nero still despised the hell out of the place though, no matter how awesome he thought it looked.

 Nero ignored the sharp looks he was receiving from other knights of the order as he passed them. After his whole playing the sick day card thing then vanishing for nearly a week before he was sure they were dying to kick his ass for insubordination or whatever. The order wasn’t really known for producing laid back individuals, the majority of them were judgmental assholes who thought the Order’s word was absolute. Nero could tell they were surprised to see him, they’d probably thought that he had quit for good. Some of them looked really pissed but he knew they weren’t stupid enough to try anything. Teenage Nero’s body might not have been as strong as Dante, or even thirty year old Nero but he was more than capable of taking on a few pissy knights. He’d wipe the floor with them in seconds. Of course fighting amongst each other was strictly prohibited outside of training exercises, so even if there had not been the fear factor stopping them, their blind obedience to the Order’s rules would have.

 Of course disappearing for several days in a row without a word was more than he’d ever done in the past, so technically they had a reason to be upset. Nero would still wipe the floor with them if push came to shove but that wouldn’t be very helpful in the long run. Had he mentioned that he had never really been one for plans? So this was still very new to him. Losing his cool over a bunch of twats really wasn’t an option for Nero at the moment.

 “What’s he doing here? I thought he quit.”

 “Where’s he been?”

 “I guess we couldn’t get lucky enough to be rid of him so easily. Why doesn’t the Supreme General put him in his place?”

 “Not so loud, Al. It’s not our place to question the Order’s authority.”

 One of them snorted. “Not our place, maybe. But the Most Holy must realize how much General Credo lets slide because of his soft spot for that heretic. If it weren’t for his past with General’s family he would have be exiled a long time ago. “ Blah, blah, blah, and so on and so forth. Since Nero didn’t actually give a damn he didn’t point out that I could hear them. He just kept on walking towards headquarters lost in his own thoughts. Over the last few days he had managed to get a handle on “current” events, and grow accustomed to his changed body. The good news was that he could still change into his demon form, the bad news was that Nero couldn’t sustain the form for very long. But he was pretty sure he could change that with enough practice. At first Nero had been a little clumsy in his younger body, his mind would tell his limbs to move one way and they would then spaz off and do their own thing. It wasn’t so bad now, though sometimes his right  arm would twitch violently. The really bad news was that Nero seriously wasn’t prepared to deal with Credo. Like at all. But he would have to soon, since he had dropped off the grid for a few days. Nero was a little surprised not to see Credo’s stiff with righteous indignation form stalking towards him. In the past Credo had been the one he’d receive missions from most of the time, the reason ranging from Credo being the only one willing to deal with Nero, to Nero only being willing to follow his orders. And Nero had done even that with extreme reluctance. On top of his impatience, and lack of any sort of planning skills, Nero also had authority issues. He wanted to do his own thing, his own way, and in his own time. However, Nero would have to stifle those impulses if he wanted get into a high enough position in the order to be able to make a difference. He would have to be a  _ teamplayer.  _ Fucking fuck. The thought was almost enough make him forget about having to deal with Credo. Almost.

 To be honest, Nero knew that the real reason that he was dreading meeting Credo had nothing to do with the repercussions of his six day unauthorized leave of absence. Nor did it have to do with having to follow the rules of the Order, not really. Nero was dreading seeing his old friend again because the last time he had seen Credo, he had died trying to save Nero. He was hoping that he didn’t react badly--you know like throwing himself at Credo, or God forbid crying. Nero could just imagine the look on Credo’s face if he started bawling my eyes out and hugging him. It was enough to make his lips quirk in amusement, and for a second Nero considered doing just that. Then he shook his head with a stern internal warning to keep it together. 

 The Order’s Headquarters was a pristine white citadel that was actually quite beautiful for being so over the top. Really, in Nero’s opinion, something this size practically screamed overcompensation. As he walked through the entrance he thought of Kyrie, not the one that was here, but the one from Nero’s time. He hoped that whatever power had sent him back in time had only sent his memories, and that the other Nero proceeded to kick the time manipulating demon’s ass, and then went home Kyrie. That version of events was the most positive one in his opinion, and so was the one he decided to accept as fact. The other versions were too devastating to think about. Nero had no way of knowing if that was what had ended up happening, but a devil could hope right? But, damn, he really missed Kyrie. 

 Director Carson was one of the men in charge of giving the Knights of the Order their missions and orders. He was also the one Nero decided to go to instead of Credo when he chickened out. Nero decided that dealing with Credo could happen on another day, when just the thought didn’t make him want to shoot himself in the head. Director Carson’s office was located on the second floor at the end of a long hallway. Nero had to shake his head as he strode down it, amazed at the medieval like look of the place. Fortuna had never really been known for having breaking edge technology, vehicles were still considered relatively new in some circles. He knocked on the large wooden door and a voice within told him to enter. He pushed the heavy door open, and saw Carson sitting behind a desk, apparently doing paperwork. Carson--Nero thinks his first name is Evan or something--wasn’t that large a man, and neither was he that small of one. His blondish hairline was beginning to recede, and he had the complexion of someone who didn’t get out in the sun very much.  He was a remarkably average looking fellow except for his eyes, which were a vibrant green that seemed to cut through you. Nero remembered him being nearly impossible to lie to, but he had been one of the few in the Order that would have anything to do with Nero. Okay, the only one other than Credo that would have anything to do with him. Let’s hope that was still the case. And that Nero wouldn’t have to do too much lying. He was pretty sure he’d be terrible at it.

 After a few moments of silence it became apparent that he wasn’t going to start this conversation. Hell, he had not even bothered to look up. What a positive start. Nero cleared his throat to get his attention--Nero knew he knew Nero was there, just like he knew Nero knew he knew--and he slowly,  _ slowly _ looked up at him. His eyebrows rose a fraction, which for him was the same as someone’s jaw dropping, at Nero’s appearance. Or more likely at the fact that Nero was actually wearing the white uniform of a Knight of the Order, rather than his long blue coat with the Order’s insignia on the back of it. Nero liked his version of the uniform better, but he was trying to get on the Order’s good side after all. 

 “Knight Nero,” Carson’s voice was as mellow as the rest of him, and even when he got angry--if he ever did get angry--it was never loud. “To what do I owe the honor of your presence?” He was also a very sarcastic fucker, though Nero was pretty sure he was one of the only ones who noticed it behind that polite demeanor of his. 

 Nero resisted the urge to clear his throat again. “I’m here to receive my orders, Director Carson.” His eyebrows went even higher at the polite and respectful tone of Nero’s voice. Nero couldn’t blame him, because the words “polite” and “respect” really weren’t things he generally associated with. 

 “Is that so?” The doubt in his voice was palpable.

 “Yes, sir,” Nero responded and tried not to gag on the words. “I know I’m a little late, and I apologize for that.” His eyebrows continued to rise as Nero talked and he resisted the urge to point out the fact that he was running out of forehead space. 

 “The Order doesn’t usually accept unauthorized leaves,” Carson pointed out in his mild voice, brows halting their trajectory for the moment.

 “I’m afraid this one was unavoidable,” Nero said, and fucking hell did he sound unnaturally formal and stiff.

 “Oh? How so?” Fucking hell, Nero didn’t remember him being this inquisitive in the past.

 “Personal reasons, sir.” That response was the one that did it, his eyebrows disappeared and became one with his receding hairline. RIP you poor bastards.

 “Personal reasons? No, don’t answer that,” he said holding up a hand. “This conversation has become too painful for me. I can’t give you your new missions--” he cut himself off suddenly looking at Nero expectantly. Nero merely stared back him inquisitively before realizing Carson had expected him to interrupt  and demand why he couldn’t give him him missions. Which, to be fair Nero had almost done but had resisted doing. Rather valiantly in Nero’s opinion. Though since Carson had interrupted himself Nero might as well have. Damn it all, this whole politeness and respectful thing was going to be  _ exhausting.  _

 When Nero didn’t do anything but patiently (ha ha, not fucking really) wait for him to start talking again, Carson continued. “I can’t give you your orders, because I don’t have them. I do, however, have orders telling me that if I see you to send you to General Credo.”

 Fucking hell.  _ Fucking hell. _ Seriously, why the fuck couldn’t the asshole had started with that and saved them both from this awkward as fuck stilted conversation.

 Nero didn’t say any of that out loud, though he really, really wanted to. Instead he asked oh so politely, “Do you know if he is available right now?” Director Carson blinked  _ so fucking slowly Nero nearly screamed  _ and looked down at a piece of paper. “The General is actually in a meeting right now,” he said finally. “But it will end soon, so you can wait in his office in the meantime.”

 Great. Just what he’d wanted to hear. Not. So much for avoiding Credo for another day. “Thank you for your time, Director. Have a good day.”  _ Oh, gag me. _ Nero turned on his heel without waiting for a reply and strode out. He made sure to gently shut the door behind him even though he was tempted to slam it shut as hard as he could. That had been a colossal waste of time, though he guessed that it gave him a good idea of how shitty this whole process was going to be. Well, hell. Nero sighed resigning himself to the fact that he was going to have to go to Credo’s office now. His office was on the top floor, so it was stair climbing time. One good thing about having demon blood was that the endless flight of steps weren’t really daunting to Nero, but they were a time consuming bitch. Well, at least the climb would give Nero time to think. Because there was nothing he liked so much as being stuck in his own head. 

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Credo’s meeting ended up taking a few hours to end--ending soon his ass--so Nero waited in Credo’s offices, staring out the large window. You could see nearly all of Fortuna from here, and Nero had to admit it was quite a sight. Nero wondered if Credo ever looked out of this window and just admired the view. Credo, who was still alive.  _ Alive.  _

 Nero felt the irritated tension seep from his shoulders at the thought. That fact alone was worth any annoyance he felt from having to play the part of  a obedient Knight. Hell, it was worth a whole hell of a lot more. He stood there lost in thought, and almost didn’t hear the door open. Nero turned in time to see Credo’s back as he shut the door. Nero was grateful that Credo wasn’t looking at him, because he sure that his face must have been doing something incredibly weird. It certainly felt like it was doing something incredibly weird. Nero managed to school his features before Credo turned, but never in his life had he been happier that the person in front of him couldn’t read minds. 

 Of course, while was Nero very happy to see the person in front of him, said person was not so happy to see him. 

 “Nero. Where have you been?” Right to the point, then huh? God, it was good to hear that mixture of annoyed disdain and resigned disappointment in his voice. Nero would have to be careful talking to him though. If Carson was difficult to lie to, Credo was nigh impossible to fool. For Nero anyway.  _ I guess that it had been too much to hope for; that he would just give me my missions and send me on my way with questioning. _

 “I needed to get away,” Nero said, which while that was actually true sounded completely lame. Nero continued before Credo could tear him a new asshole. “I know that I shouldn’t have done that. It was stupid and irresponsible. I’m sorry.” Shit, he hadn’t meant to apologize. He had planned on apologizing for the whole disappearance act, but he hadn’t planned on just blurting it out like that. Nero wasn’t even sure what he was apologizing for, the vanishing without a word, or failing to save Credo in a future that hadn’t come to past. 

 That was a lie. Nero knew which one he was apologizing for.

  Credo stared at him for a long moment not saying anything. Nero didn’t say anything else either though he knew he really needed to. That half assed explanation was actually less than half an ass. But his mind had gone aggravatingly blank and he simply stared back at Credo.

 “Do you think that excuses your actions?” His tone was sharp, but Nero could see a slight baffled look in his eyes. Credo’s eyes were more of a grey color rather than hazel, like Kyrie’s, though you could see the sibling relation in both of their faces. Credo had sharp features, and he always had a severe expression on his face. Something most people didn’t know was that he held his face like that on purpose; his eyes always gave away what he was feeling so he tried to look as intimidating as he could. Nero didn’t just think that because he had known the other man for most of his life either. Credo’s eyes were windows to his soul, or whatever that silly ass saying was. Nero could remember when they were younger and he first realized how much Credo hated being that transparent. He’d never given him shit over it even though he had wanted to--the man had few weaknesses it was hard not to pounce on the ones that were there--because Nero knew that his own face was even easier to read. 

 “No, I know it doesn’t,” Nero responded. “But--and this is going to sound stupid, I know it--I was questioning why i was here.” Sorta mostly true. “Why I was with the Order, you know?”

 Fury darkened his grey eyes at his words. “And if we were worth your time?” He asked--well sneered really. Great, Nero, piss him off instantly. Just like old times. 

 “Kind of the opposite really.” Damn but he was screwing this up royally. “Look, you know that I’ve never really been as committed as the other Knights. And I’ve never really been the the worshiping type. Like I said, I began to question why I was here. And whether not I should stay. I know I’m not much of a credit to the Order, to be honest I haven’t ever tried to be. I was thinking it might be best if I just left.” That was actually true, too. Sanctus had only gone after Kyrie to get to Nero, after all. Which had led to Credo defecting to save her, which had led to Sanctus murdering him. If Nero was out of the picture, then there was a chance none of that would happen. Nero had  dismissed the idea in the end though. For one thing a lot of people would still be at the mercy of Sanctus’ plans, and he couldn’t just leave them to their fate. And there was still Dante and his crew to think of. Nero knew they would eventually catch wind of the Order’s mad plans, just like before. And just like before they would come to try and stop them. Dante wouldn’t have any qualms about killing off the Order’s hierarchy, which included Credo. Credo was strong, but he wasn’t any match for Dante. None of the order were, really. It would just be mass slaughter. Something Nero had seen more than enough of.

 “And is that why you’ve returned? To personally inform the Order of your defection?”

 Oh, boy. He was getting really angry now. Nero opened his mouth to correct him but before he could Credo continued. “I have to say Nero, I have not expected much from you in a very long time. You are loud, lazy, disrespectfully arrogant and frequently disregard the effects your actions have on others. You are disobedient and flaunt the rules of the Order you serve. However, until today I thought your word meant something. You gave an oath to serve the Order, Nero. That is not something you should cast away lightly.”

 Credo’s voice had increased in volume as he spoke and for a second Nero thought he was going to go for his blade. The look on his face kinda screamed that he wanted to kick Nero’s ass. What he’d said didn’t really bother Nero all that much, a lot of it was true after all. He had never really been subtle with his disdain for the Order whether it was with his words or actions. He wasn’t thrilled about the “I haven’t expected much from you” bit, but Nero wasn’t really surprised by it. He was, however, kind of shocked that Credo was getting so upset about this though. Obviously Credo had misunderstood him, Nero wasn’t leaving or defecting from the Order, but he was surprised by Credo’s reaction to the thought that he might be. If Nero had to guess what his reaction would be to his resignation, he would have thought Credo would have been relieved to be rid of him. He knew Credo got a lot a crap from the rest of the Order because of him. 

 “I’m not here to defect from the Order,” Nero finally said after a long drawn out moment of silence. “I actually just came for my missions. I went to Director Carson first, but he sent me to you.”

 Credo just stared at him and there was another long moment of silence. Then: “You disappear without a word to anyone for days on end, and expect to just be able to walk back in like nothing happened. Nero, your arrogance never fails to astound me.”

_ Yeah, I bet it didn’t. _ “I am prepared to accept any punishment that the Order deems necessary. I just figured that I needed to do some catching up on missions in the meantime.”

 “Is that so?” He seemed like he was going to say something else but instead took a step back, looking Nero up and down. “You’re wearing your uniform,” he said abruptly. He must have been really pissed off if he had just now realized that. Since he wasn’t looking at Nero’s face, he allowed himself an eye roll. It wasn’t like Credo to state the obvious. And Nero wearing the official Order uniform wasn’t that surprising. Sure, maybe this was the first time he had ever worn it--he hadn’t even worn it his first day as a Knight. Okay, so maybe it was a little bit surprising. Just a little bit.

 “Yes, I am. When I left I knew that I needed to either leave for good, or fully commit myself to the order. No more doing things halfway. Obviously, I decided to come back. I wanted to show that I was serious about the Order. I may not believe in the religious part of the Order they way other Knights do but I do believe in its goals to protect people from demons. I want to show that things are going to be different this time around. I once swore an oath to serve the Order, like you said. It’s time I dedicated myself to it fully.” Hell, half way was being generous. In the past if it hadn’t been for Credo and Kyrie Nero wouldn’t have bothered having anything to do with the Order. Technically the same could be said for now as well. But what Nero had said was true, even though he still didn’t really give a damn about the Order. There was a lot Nero would do to make sure Credo didn’t die, and Kyrie wasn’t put through hell.

 Credo’s expressive grey eyes bored into Nero’s for several moments, as if trying to find the lie. Sorry Credo, the lies are too bizarre for you to see. 

 “Even if you are being serious about this,” He finally said. “There is still the fact that you vanished for several days without telling anyone. There are some who are already calling for your immediate exile.” Shit. If Nero got exiled this whole mess would be even more impossible. He would still try, of course, but being kicked out of the Order would slam a lot of doors shut very quickly, forcing Nero to do things he didn’t want to do but knew he would. “However, I have the last say in exile from the Order.” He paused again and gave Nero a hard look. “Nero, I will allow you to stay in the Order on the condition that you agree to my terms.” Oh, good. This was the part Nero was dreading. Credo was kind of a control freak, and he had known that the other man would jump at the chance to be able to control him. Nero’s rebellious attitude had driven Credo up the wall all those years ago. He had been counting on this too, to be honest. Even if most of the Order had wanted to exile Nero, Credo wouldn’t be able to pass the chance to have him under his thumb. Aside from the Order, Credo was a big believer in control and order, and Nero had always kind of been the antithesis of that. As much as Nero loved winding Credo up, he wouldn’t. Not yet anyway. 

 “What are the terms?” He asked when it seemed as if Credo was waiting for some kind of response. 

 “First, you will have to have a partner. No more of this lone wolf nonsense.” Not surprising, he had kind of expected that. Nero may not be much of a teamplayer, but  after teaming up with Nico he suspected that anyone else would seem tame and reasonable in comparison. “Second, you will attend all the ceremonies other Knights are required to attend, and on time as well.” Ugh. Fine. “You will complete and return all of your paperwork in timely fashion. Third, while on Order business I expect you to have a more respectful attitude, including how you speak. I don’t expect any miracles on this front, but I do expect you to try.” Condescending bastard. But yeah, Nero could see how his mouth would be the thing that got him into the most trouble. 

 The list continued in the same vein for a several minutes. A large majority of what he said fell in line with what Nero had already been planning on doing. Some weren’t but Nero agreed to them anyway, since he really didn’t have much of a choice. After he was done talking, Credo simply stared at Nero for long moment. Nero stared back at him, unable to help himself even though he knew that his passive attitude and silence was throwing Credo off. Nero hadn’t argued with any of his terms, and hadn’t become angry or said anything snide or sarcastic. It was probably the first conversation in the two of them had in years that hadn’t ended in a shouting match. Of course, it wasn’t over yet and when Credo opened his mouth Nero had the sinking sensation that he was going to say something Nero really wasn’t going to like. 

 “About your firearm,” he started and yep, this was going to fucking suck. “As you know, the Order doesn’t approve of such weapons.” Yeah, right. Guns were somehow dishonorable blah, blah, blah a stain upon the soul yada yada. Yet, somehow human experimentation was totally honorable. _ Give me a break. _ “I’ve tolerated your use of it in the past, but circumstances such as they are, allowing you to continue to carry such a weapon is a concession that you have in no way earned.” 

 “General,” Nero said just barely managing to keep the irritation he was feeling from his voice. A weapon was a fucking weapon. As long as Nero wasn’t shooting civilians or allies he should be allowed to use a freakin’ revolver. “I know the Order sees firearms as a little unorthodox” well, more like they see it as a terrible sin, but whatever-- “but it isn’t as if I’m running around with a rocket laun--wait, why are you looking at me like that?” Credo was gawking at him--not just startled but with eyes wide as saucers jaw to floor gaping in total shock. He looked a little manic, and Nero would be lying if he said he didn’t kind of like the look on him.

 “General?” Nero prompted when he didn’t say anything. His expressive grey eyes were nearly bulging out of his head now, and Nero was torn between concern and amusement. The hell was his problem? Whatever it was he seemed to get a handle on it after a few seconds and composed himself. 

“ I will allow you to continue using your gun, if you give me word that you will limit your use of it, at least for the time being.” He probably meant until the outrage over Nero’s disappearing act faded away. At least that's what Nero hoped he meant. Nero wasn't really all that sure how much his word meant to Credo but he gave it readily. Blue Rose would just have to take it easy for a while.  After that he informed Nero of the Knighting ceremony taking be place the next morning and that attending was mandatory. Nero couldn't stop the wide grin that spread across his face and quickly hid it by giving a short bow anding thanking Credo for his time. Nero looked up in time to see the almost disturbed look in Credo’s grey eyes before he turned away and dismissed him.

 Once he shut the door behind him Nero nearly be sagged to floor in exhaustion. He had gone up against enemies that were easily twenty times the size of him, fought against a crazy people eating tree minus one arm and hadn't felt this beat. His acting skills were shit, and watching every word he said was going to get old very fast. He had no idea how he would react when he saw Sanctus, or hell, even Agnus. It wouldn't be pretty, not if Nero kept letting himself get as rattled as he had with Credo.

 When Nero made it back to his room he flopped face first on the bed. It wasn’t very late in the day, but he was kind of at a loss as to what to do next. Credo hadn't outright forbidden him from roaming about, but he'd heavily implied that he should remain in the barracks until tomorrow. For some reason he seemed to think that Nero would get into a fight or something with the other members of the Order. Given Nero’s past actions, and well, his actual personality, Nero couldn’t really say he was wrong. However, since Nero was going to be partnered up with others, wouldn’t it be better to get some practice in?  _ Or maybe not _ , he grimaced. Nero hated to admit it but after dealing with Credo he wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold his tongue if some jackass said something stupid. He was too off balance from seeing a friend who in his eyes had been long dead. He stood up and walked over to the window. The barrack rooms were set up similar to a small one room apartment, a bathroom, a kitchen area, and a sleeping area, simple but functional. The view from the window wasn’t bad either, though it was nothing compared to the view from Credo’s office window. He watched as the sun began to set and glumly considered the next day. Nero had always despised any and all of the Order’s ceremonies they were far too stuffy and sanctimonious for him. But if Nero wanted show Credo that he was serious about this he knew that there was going a lot of putting up with the endless preaching and pompous nonsense. Tomorrow was only the beginning after all, so he had better kick himself in gear. Nero didn’t want to fail before he had even really started after all. 

 


End file.
